


Marriage Mayhem

by orphan_account



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:35:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ryouga stands to gain a large inheritance, and Nabiki seizes her chance.For immortals_good
Relationships: Hibiki Ryouga/Tendou Nabiki
Kudos: 7





	Marriage Mayhem

“Engaged?! To Hibiki?” Soun Tendo looked like he was about to have a heart attack. “How can you be engaged?”

Ryouga knew how the man felt. The last place on earth he’d ever expected to be was at the Tendo dojo on the arm of Miss Tendo. Miss _Nabiki_ Tendo.

“Oh, don’t be silly Dad.” Nabiki smiled at her father. “Ryouga-baby proposed this afternoon and I said yes. We still need your permission of course, but you wouldn’t stand in the way of your daughter’s happiness, would you?”

Soun’s jaw dropped with an audible thud. “Ryouga- _baby_?” He looked back and forth between Nabiki and Ryouga in confusion. “But I thought you… and I’m certain _you_ were… well, obviously I was quite mistaken.” He frowned.

Please say no, Ryouga begged silently. The engagement ring had been meant for his dearest Akane, not her wily, money-hungry older sister. Curse that clumsy Ranma Saotome! If he hadn’t come on the scene, just as he was about to present Akane the jewelry box, he wouldn’t have been tripped up and handed it to Nabiki by accident! 

And worst of all possible outcomes, she’d opened the box before he had the chance to say a word, and accepted his unvoiced proposal with a public kiss. Ryouga had been so overwhelmed by the act, he promptly lost all ability to speak until it was far too late to correct the mistake. There was no way his honor would allow him to go back on his word, even in such extreme circumstances. 

Soun crossed his arms and tried to look stern. “I don’t appreciate the suddenness of this announcement. And I certainly disapprove of you two making this decision by yourselves.” He let out a long sigh, and frowned. 

Ryouga’s heart leapt. Alas, too soon. The next thing he knew, Soun had trapped him in a crushing bear hug. 

“But I never thought any man would ever manage to win over my little Nabiki’s miserly heart!” Soun exclaimed, grinning madly. “Of course you have got my permission! Bless you, Hibiki! Bless you both!”

Ryouga could only manage a breathless gurgling sound.

“We’re going to be so happy!” Nabiki purred. “Let’s get married right away!”

\---

“You found out about the inheritance, didn’t you? The three hundred million yen my uncle will leave me if I get married. ” Ryouga scowled. He’d finally managed to corner Nabiki in her room after being enthusiastically congratulated by every single member of the Tendou family, both Saotomes, and several neighbors. Akane’s had been the hardest to take, because her happiness had been so genuine.

Nabiki was sprawled out on her bed, smiling sweetly at him. “I heard you rehearsing. No need to thank me for taking the initiative.”

”What for? I don’t want to get married to _you_!” Ryouga was distraught, but he clapped both hands over his mouth when he realized what he’d said.

“Of course you don’t,” Nabiki shrugged nonchalantly, but there was a sly look in her eyes. “But you never would have proposed to Akane in time to claim all that money. And she’s engaged to Ranma anyway, so Dad wouldn’t have approved. Now I’ve gotten you a legitimate engagement, and dear old Dad’s already gone to talk to the priest about a ceremony this Saturday. Don’t look so mortified. The minute you claim the money, we can go to court and get a divorce.”

“You’re shameless!” Ryouga pointed an accusing finger at her. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you so eager to be a divorcee so early in life? Think about your reputation!”

“Half of that inheritance ought to assuage my pain a bit, Ryouga-baby,” she grinned, obviously not bothered about it at all.

“S-stop calling me that!” It was starting to really sink in now, that Nabiki was serious about going through with the wedding. “It’s all about the money with you, isn’t it?! This is all just a sham!”

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at him, her lips pursed. “Well, of course. Do you expect me to just ignore such a wonderful opportunity?”

“Don’t you ever think about other people’s feelings? I mean, we’re going to have to stand up in front of all those people and go through with all the rituals, and it’s all going to mean nothing!” Ryouga moaned, clutching his head. He was going to die of humiliation. He could never call himself a martial artist again after this kind of dishonor.

“It could be worse,” she teased. “We could be having a Western ceremony. Then you’d have to kiss me … is your nose bleeding, Ryouga-baby?”

\---

“You have to be kidding,” Ryouga gaped down at the buck-toothed ninja. “Kuno’s issuing me a challenge? Over Nabiki Tendo?!”

Sasuke looked apologetic as he handed an arrow with a note tied around its shaft to Ryouga. “I would have liked to do this the traditional way and used the bow, but my aim’s been off since I sprained my wrist.”

It was three days to the wedding, and the Tendo dojo was a flurry of activity. Preparations were well underway, with nearly all of their friends and acquaintances helping out in some capacity. Ryouga had mostly been loafing out in front of the house, trying to stay out of the way. He was under strict orders, however, not to leave the premises and get himself lost.

The front gate slammed. “What’s going on out here?” Ranma was carrying out a trash bin. “Sasuke? What are you doing here?”

Ryouga crumpled up the note with both hands. “This is ridiculous. I don’t want to fight Kuno over that greedy female.”

Ranma snatched it away from him and looked it over. “But it’s a challenge, Ryouga. You’ve got to accept as a matter of pride, right?”

“Well…” The other boy looked doubtful.

“Hey, did you actually read this thing?” Ranma waved the note at him. “It says here that Kuno wants to fight you for Nabiki’s honor. That means if he wins, he’s gotta marry her, and you’ll be off the hook.”

“What?” Ryouga grabbed Sasuke by the collar. “Is this true?!”

The ninja scratched his head. “Well, Master Kuno did say he’d never forgive himself if he let his dearest Akane’s family name be soiled by any association with Ryouga Hibiki. I suppose you could interpret that to mean he’d marry Nabiki himself.”

“Then send back my acceptance on the double!” Ryouga demanded. He dropped Sasuke and turned to Ranma. “This is wonderful, Saotome! I just have to lose to Kuno and I’ll be free of that scheming female! Free!”

Ranma shook his head. “I don’t know if it’ll be that easy. When Nabiki’s got money in her sights, she’s pretty hard to talk out of anything.”

Sasuke cleared his throat. “In any case, please come to the Kuno estate tomorrow at sunset. Be prepared to do battle!”

“Count on it!” Ryouga raised his fist to the sky, grinning.

\---

“A duel against Kuno?” Akane was busy arranging flowers at the dinner table, and doing a terrible job of it. “My, my, how romantic!”

“I don’t think romance is on his mind,” Nabiki muttered. Ryouga had been all smiles about this new development, and it was making her irritated. “Have you considered what will happen if you lose tomorrow?”

Ryouga nodded emphatically. “You’ll marry Kuno, inherit his vast fortune, and live in fabulous wealth for the rest of your days. I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s not a bad outcome for you at all.”

“And what about you?” Nabiki looked at him askance. “You’ve got less than a week now to claim that money. Do you have anybody else in mind for a bride or are you really going to let it all slip through your fingers?”

Ryouga shook his head. “Money means nothing to a true martial artist.”

“Oh really?” Nabiki sidled up next to him, and teasingly started running a finger up and down his arm. “You could use it to help found a school of your own. Or buy a GPS system so you wouldn’t keep getting lost all the time. You could stop wandering around, finally. This is a once in a lifetime chance. Seems an awful shame to let it go so easy.” Her finger had somehow come all the way up to land neatly on Ryouga’s lips. “You really ought to think about it, Ryouga-baby.”

Ryouga turned red as a beet. He grabbed Nabiki hand and pushed it down. “D-don’t worry about me! I can take care of myself!” Nabiki eyed him with an “oh really” expression on her face. She glanced down at his hand, which was still holding on to hers. Ryouga squawked and yanked it away, but not before Akane saw them and smiled.

Ranma was watching them too, slowly shaking his head back and forth.

\---

He asked Ranma to come with him to Kuno’s place, just to make sure he didn’t get lost on the way. Ryouga wasn’t taking any chances. He was going to swallow his pride and lose to Tatewaki Kuno, no matter what.

The sun was nearly on the horizon when they reached the Kunos’ estate. But when they were only a few feet from the front gate, Ranma confronted him. “Are you sure you want to do this?’ he asked. “I know you guys are moving really fast and there’s this whole inheritance thing, but I think Nabiki actually likes you.”

“I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my entire life!” Ryouga snapped.

Ranma raised an eyebrow. “I think you kinda like her too.”

“What?” Ryouga stopped short. He nearly tripped on his own feet. “What made you think that?!” 

“You started turning red the minute I mentioned her, for one thing.” Ranma said pointedly. “And I’ve never seen you so desperate to lose any kind of fight before. Not even over Akane.”

Ryouga would have vehemently denied that any sort of feelings between himself and Nabiki, but that was the exact moment when the Kunos’ front gate swung open.

“Ah ha!” Kuno appeared, bokken in hand, with Sasuke trailing after. “So we meet at last, Ryouga Hibiki! Prepare to do battle with me over Akane Tendo’s honor!”

“Sir,” Sasuke tugged urgently on Kuno’s sleeve. “You’re doing battle over Nabiki Tendo’s honor,” he whispered.

Kuno ignored him, striking an impressive pose. “Are you ready to face the Blue Thunder of Furikan High School?”

Sasuke unfurled a banner with the Kuno family crest behind him, to flap in the breeze.

“Anytime!” Ryouga got into a fighting stance, and raised his fists. His blood was pumping and he was ready for a fight. 

He’d show Ranma. He’d show everybody. He was going to beat Kuno into the ground. Who did that nut think he was, issuing challenge letters like that without even remembering who he was supposed to be fighting over? He was going to – 

“Hang on!” Nabiki and Akane were running down the street toward them. Nabiki was waving a letter in her hand. “Hold everything! The wedding’s off!”

“What?!” Ranma, Ryouga, and Kuno all said in unison. Sasuke narrowly avoided being whacked in the head by the bokken. 

Nabiki held up the letter as she came to a stop, trying to catch her breath. "W-we... we..." 

Akane turned to Ranma. “We found the letter that Ryouga’s uncle sent him, about the inheritance.”

“All the money’s in stocks he bought up over the years in a couple of big industrial companies,” Nabiki panted. “Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to realize that all those companies went bankrupt thirty years ago. He’s flat broke.” 

“Are you alright?” Ryouga asked, putting his hands on Nabiki’s shoulders. She had probably run the whole way from the Tendo dojo to stop the fight, and looked like she was going to fall over.

“Didn’t you hear me, Ryouga?” She looked up at him. “There’s no inheritance. We don’t have to get married now.”

“Oh.” Ryouga nodded, as the words registered. “That’s good news.” But somehow, it didn’t feel like good news. 

Nabiki stuck the letter in his hand, her usual nonchalant expression on her face again. “Well, I’ll see you around.” She walked away, giving him a half-hearted wave over her shoulder. She didn’t look back. 

Akane looked distraught. “Oh, I’m awfully sorry about this, Ryouga. I should have known from the start it was all about the money. My sister can be so mean sometimes. It was a horrible thing for her to do, pretending like that.”

But Ryouga wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were following Nabiki as she turned the corner, disappearing from sight.

“Come on.” Ranma tugged on Akane’s hand. “I’ll walk you home.”

“Hmph!” She tossed her head. “Who asked you to?” She started down the street with Ranma following close after. Soon they were side by side, bickering, as usual.

Kuno clapped him on the back. “I see you have already suffered a defeat today, Hibiki. I will not add to your woes.” He turned away. “We’re going, Sasuke!”

Ryouga was left alone on the street. 

“Nabiki Hibiki would have been an awfully pretty name,” he whispered softly.

\---

The End


End file.
